MORROW, Ga. – In a battle of the top two teams in the Peach Belt Conference West Division, Clayton State (14-4, 6-3 PBC) could not hold off No. 15/16 Columbus State (15-1, 9-1 PBC) as they fell 78-56 in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, January 21.
 
Junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) led the way for the Lakers with 13 points and six boards while redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) finished with six points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals. They were joined by junior guard Jimecheia Banks (Phenix, City, Ala.) and redshirt-senior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Both teams came out wanting to run, it was Columbus State that would come out on fire. Over the first 9:10, the Cougars erupted for a 21-5 run that would end up with them holding a 23-7 lead after the first quarter.
 
It would get no better for the Lakers in the second quarter as Columbus extended to a 34-14 lead with 3:02 left in the half. Clayton State would then find a spark both offensively and defensively as they closed with a 10-1 run to cut it to 35-24 at the break.
 
The Cougars would squelch that rally as they opened the third quarter with a dominating 13-2 run to extend their lead to 48-26 lead with 4:33 left in the frame. Trailing 55-35 at the 1:57 mark, the Lakers would close the period with a 10-5 stretch to slice it to 60-45.
 
That 15 point margin would dip to 13 at 60-47 just 34 seconds into the fourth and stay there for the next 2:27 before Columbus regained control of the game. Over the final 6:59 they would go on to outscore Clayton State 18-9 to wrap up the 78-56 victory.
 
Alexis Carter dominated the glass for the Cougars, finishing with 19 boards and 16 points for a double-double while Ashley Asouzu had 17 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. Keyrra Gillespie added five points, five assists and eight caroms and Gabby Williams had nine points and nine boards. Jasmine Herndon rounded things out with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
The Lakers now hit the road for a three-game road trip beginning with Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, February 25. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m. in Americus, Georgia.